Loving You From Afar
by StarSlingerSnitch
Summary: After everything that that they overcame together, she finds herself alone, apart from everything she needs. So Ashely calls for help from Kim, her cousin, who is reunited with her old flame Tommy. To cure her broken heart, Ashely finds something that makes it more bearable. But when evil comes back, what is she to do? Appearances from past rangers. Request from AquitarStar.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First of all, this is a request from AquitarStar. All the ideas are hers, I'm just writing it for her. I might have added in a little of my own creations but the story's plot belongs to her. There will be Ashley/Andros, Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini and some others that I'm not sure of as of now. But anyway, happy reading! **

She is dead to the world.

The only thing she thought was constant in her life, the one dependability she always had, is leaving her.

She says one final good bye to all the people of KO-35, seeing them wave sadly to her and her friends. Well, not all of them. Not the one she really wanted to come with her.

She flashes back to their conversation, when he had felt her heart shattering and the heavy pieces thudding in her chest.

"_I'd never thought I'd have to same goodbye," she says, looking earnestly into his eyes. The eyes she saw in her dreams, the eyes that could see straight through her._

"_I know," he answers, the small hints of remorse coloring his tone._

_ "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" she asks him imploringly. He sighs, taking her small hands in his scarred ones. She feels what's coming, she knows it, but she can't make herself admit. If she denies it, maybe it's not going to happen._

_ But it is happening._

"_KO-35 is my home," he explains. Ashley looks down, hiding her forthcoming tears. The feeling of sadness is overwhelming her. It's crushing her lungs as she realizes it was doomed from the start. No matter how much she did love him, that wasn't enough._

"Come on Ashley," Cassie says, taking her back to the present. Ashley shakes her head, to clear it of those thoughts, but they won't leave her alone. They're in that one place she can't escape, can't hide from-her mind.

"Yeah, yeah," she says distractedly. Karone and Zhane she can pick out easily, them wearing masks of losing great things as they continue to wave. The seas of faces around them swarm together, becoming just an ocean of meaninglessness. They all run together into one beautiful picture of sadness and love and rebirth of a new life.

But she can only focus on him.

The last time she'll ever see him and he's narrowing his eyes at them, against the bright sunlight. The weather is so unlike her feelings at the moment, light and perfect as opposed to dark and drowning in rainstorms of tears.

She acts before she can think as she runs down the ramp and throws himself into his arms one last time. He is warm, strong, comforting. Even now, when everything's falling apart, all because of him, he's pulling it together by just being there. And that's what's killing her most of all.

"I'm going to miss you, Andros," she whispers, her voice muffled against the fabric of his suit. She feels his hands tighten around her back and hopes he still feels the same way for her as she does for him, even though they never said it. She wants him to tell her it's all a lie, that she isn't losing him. She's not losing him to the abyss of time.

Is she?

_I need to tell him. I need to. _

It's now or never.

"Andros, I…" But she can't finish. Even now, even when it's the last time, she can't tell him. She just looks up into his eyes, his breathtaking eyes that she falls through all the time. The eyes that can hide emotions as well as broadcast them. The eyes that for so long were just a mask.

"I'm going to miss you too, Ash," he responds lovingly. Then his voice turns firm "But you need to go now, back to your home. For this is mine. Good bye." And he gently pushes her away. She desperately wants to cling to him, to stay with him. Her hands begin to close around his shirt… but she stops herself.

If he doesn't want her anymore, she's not going to beg him.

So she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to clear them of the misty tears. Nodding, she bites her lip and turns to go back up the ramp. The others are watching her, their sympathy written on their faces. After one last goodbye, they walk back into the AstroMegaship. Cassie puts her hand on her friend's shoulder, knowing how hard this is for her. To leave behind the thing that she loved most of all, though no one knew how close he is to her heart.

Ashley walks over to the panel that has the button that will close them off from the rest of their lives forever. She never breaks eye contact with Andros. They keep their eyes locked on one another, her trying to tell him with everything she has that she doesn't want to leave him. He's looking back just as despondently.

Ashley takes a deep breath. _This is it. This is goodbye…forever._

She places her palm against the button and pushes, sealing her fate. Turning her head, she watches the ramp close up before her, obscuring the faces of the civilians of KO-35. She sees Andros's face, looking almost as if it's pleading with her. But she can't do it anymore.

The metal rises up, allowing her one last look at his visage. And it's when she truly sees him. His true self. What he kept hidden from everyone, even her. The little crack through his armor was happening in front of her and it flashes before her. All those times she took for granted, all those times that she could look at him, touch him, comfort him, they were all gone. She never appreciated his beauty until now.

Now, when it was all gone.

She lifts her head to the ceiling, trying to stop the tears that threaten to overflow. Taking deep breaths, she walks into the main room.

She takes a seat next to Cassie, her eyes already soulless and hollow, her mood matching the gray walls of the room. She needs to get out of there. Yet at the same time, she wants to stay. But the longer she does, the more it will hurt her.

The deeper it will cut.

"You gonna be okay?" Cassie asks her softly. It takes a few seconds for Cassie's words to echo through her mind and it takes even longer for her to form a sentence. It's just, she wasn't…wasn't working. She could barely function now, without him.

"I miss him so much," Ashley whispers under her breath, spilling out everything she ever felt for him and everything she will feel in that simple, short sentence.

Cassie takes her hand for comfort and although it is helping, Ashley wants to push it away. She doesn't want sympathy, she doesn't want pity. She wants Andros.

"Decca, set a course for Earth." TJ's voice seems loud in the quietness of the command center. It vibrates off the walls.

"Course for Earth set…will reach Earth in approximately five hours," Decca responds promptly. Ashley stiffens. Five hours. Five hours. How can she survive five hours in a place where everything reminds her of him, where memories take place in every corner of the ship?

"Why don't you lay down?" Cassie suggests to Ashley, seeing her tense up. She knows how bad she's feeling and wants to help but has no idea how to. "Get some sleep."

"Okay," Ashley agrees emotionlessly. It's scary seeing her like this. She gets up and trudges from the room as her friends shoot each other worried looks.

Ashley walks down the hallways to her old room. Trying so hard not to think of old past memories, to travel back down those roads. But they won't leave her alone.

She loved him. She _loves_ him. She gave him everything, risked her life, even. And after all that, he chose his planet over them. His home over her.

But…she was his home, right? Wasn't that what they promised?

No. That's what _she_ had promised, that's what she had thought. She never told him. And now he's gone. She let another heartbeat go by when she didn't tell him what he needed to know. And it was too late.

She reaches her room, exhausted by the little effort it gave her. Ashley tumbles onto her bed, not even bothering to turn on the lights. In fact, she likes the darkness, the quiet. But at the same time, in the silence, she finds it too loud, too demanding, too eerie to be comforting.

"Decca?" she asks softly, her voice hoarse. A small, red light blinks at her through the obsidian blackness. And it soothes her to know that she's not alone, that someone's there.

Not the someone she needs, though.

"Yes Ashley?" Somehow, Decca's voice, in its official, pompous sound, makes the corners of her mouth lift. But that's it. It barely touches her heart.

"Never mind." Ashley yawns, realizing how tired she really is. And it's not just from the battles or the strain or leaving Zhane and Karone and KO-35 behind.

It's from love.

The struggles that come from love, the pain it causes, the thinking it makes you do about who you really are.

It was beautiful, loving him that is. It was joyful and hopeful and deep and true. It went deeper than her very skin, then her very soul. But somehow, it wasn't enough.

The joy she had from loving him feels like an instant, as compared to the sorrow that is soon to come.

He made her feel vulnerable. Open to the world. Like he could read her. She gave him a piece of her that no matter how raw and cracked it left her, she doesn't want it back.

It's so powerful. It's so dangerous and overwhelming and scary and comforting and soulful. It made her think, it made her see what was really important. It made her want to break the rules a little bit, take that leap of faith, use that hidden strength inside of her to feel it. And in the end, all it left her with was the feeling of losing it all.

It hurt her. It tore her up inside and rampaged her mind. But she stayed. She stayed with him, she stayed in love with him because she thought it was worth it. That it was worth something.

But it wasn't.

What can she do? She's broken now, left alone and untouched.

No one understands her. No one can help her. She's alone in this battle, alone in this struggle. What can she do?

Ashley bolts upright, her mind reminding her of the one person that could help her, that knew at least a little of what she was feeling. Someone who had actually felt these sensations of painful and powerful love.

She opens the top drawer of the bedside table, her fingernails groping for the cell phone she had got before she became a ranger. They hadn't needed cell phones, they had their communicators. But she had still kept it.

Her nails scrape the metal until she feels the cool, small square beneath her hand. She picks it up and dials the number. Even in the dark, she can still type it in. she lifts it to her ear, biting her lip nervously. At least this was a better feeling then just sitting around and moping for herself. She was actually doing something about her broken heart.

The phone rings once, twice, three times. Finally it's picked up on the other end. Ashley speaks first, her voice a little shaky.

"Hey Kim? It's me. I need a favor."


	2. Chapter 2

"This is the last of them." Ashley says, wiping the beads of sweat from her brow. She surveys the small room that now houses her things. It's her room now. Or at least, for the time being. She turns to the brunette next to her who is setting down another box.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here," she says heartedly. "It means a lot to me, Kim." The brunette laughs lightly, pulling the other girl into a hug.

"It's no problem Ash. What are friends-or should I say, cousins, for?" Ashley gives a little smile at her cousins' words.

"It's just…a lot's going on right now and I really had no idea of what else to do," continues Ashley. Kim just waves away her apologies.

"It's not a big deal, really. The only thing is…" she trails off as they hear a garage door open, the rumbling echoing even to the second floor room they're currently in. Through the picture window, Ashley sees a car pull up to the house. They look at each other with wide eyes and Ashley's mouth curves into a mischievous smile. The first she's made in days, her first real smile since…then.

_No._

"You haven't told him yet, have you?" she teases, feeling lighter than she has in a while. Kim impatiently flips a piece of hair over her shoulder and grins at Ashley.

"Well, not exactly, but it's not like he runs it around here. Don't worry, he won't object but if he does, I'll settle it very quickly." Ashley nods gratefully, letting a sigh escape her lips.

"Hey Ash?" Kim says, concerned for her relative. She hates to see her like this and she _just wishes_ Andros would come back so she could give him a piece of her mind about what an idiot he is for leaving behind the best thing that will happen to him in, like, ever. "It's going to be okay. You'll see."

Ashley nods again as they hear the door squeak open and heavy footsteps tread throughout the house.

"Kim? Are you home?" a voice calls out. The footsteps pause for a moment before heading towards the stairs and begin climbing up them. Kim winks at Ashley as they wait for him to come closer.

"I am and I have a surprise for you," she yells back at him, w wide smile forming on her face.

"Oh?" says Tommy Oliver as he walks into the room. _He still looks the same_, Ashley thinks. Longer hair pulled back. Small goatee that has yet to grow out into anything. Serious dark eyes. He stops at the sight of Ashley and she's nervous, pulling at her clothes. She looks up and gives him a timid smile.

"Hi Tommy," she says softly, wary of his reaction. He continues to stare at her for a movement before throwing his briefcase on the bed and pulling her into a hug.

"Ashley! I had no idea. It's so good to see you. What's the occasion?" Ashley doesn't answer for a moment, still shocked by his welcome. She'd thought he would be a little stiffer after everything that has happened, a little more uptight, a little more objective to her being here. But no, he's still the same good old Tommy.

"Why, Tommy. Don't you know? Ashley's going to live with us for a little while," Kim's sweet voice makes Tommy' head turn in her direction. She's looking at him innocently, a smile playing around the corners of her lips. Tommy glances back down at Ashley, still embraced in his arms. She bites her lip shyly.

"Oh," he says, less enthusiastic. Ashley feels a moment of panic. No one, not even her old friend, wants her.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'll leave," she mutters, pushing herself out of Tommy's arms. He looks insulted.

"No no, Ashley, that's not what I mean. I'm happy to have you stay here, I'm just a little surprised. No, really," he adds at Ashley's disbelieving face. "But why-"

"I'll fill you in on the details later," Kim interrupts him. Ashley shoots her a grateful look. She doesn't think she can talk about…it…without breaking down even more. She could barely tell Kim about it. She knows she has to move on, that her while life isn't going to be spent moping around for him to return, but for now, she's going to grieve.

"Why don't you unpack? I'll go make something for dinner," Kim continues, pulling on Tommy to get him to leave. He looks confused for a moment then shrugs and allows Kim to pull him out the door. Ashley smiles until they've disappeared from sight. Then she lets the happiness drop from her face and sits down on the bed, cradling her head in her hands.

She knew seeing Tommy was going to tough. He and his friends had brought her into this, had brought her and her friends into this world. He had essentially brought together her and

_No._

Ashley sighs, a sigh that seems to come up from her very soul. It contains all she feels, all she has felt.

She starts to arrange her things around the room. Put clothes in drawer, hang pictures on the wall, line up shoes in the closet. Overall, it's a pretty decent room. A queen-size bed takes up half the room, a closet on the other side of it. There's a dresser and bookcase side by side on the wall opposite the bed, in dark paneling that matches the bed. The walls are painted a light crème, a stationary color. A calm color. A bland color.

"At least it's not gray…" she mutters softly, wishfully thinking of her room aboard the AstroMegaship. _No. No, stop. Stop it._

She shakes her head of these thoughts and gazes to the other side of the room. It has the big picture widow that looks out over the driveway and gives her a view of the neighborhood. It's a typical Florida neighborhood, with beach-style houses and the smell of water always in the air. Nothing like Angel Grove. Nothing like KO-35.

She turns away from the panes of glass to reach back into the box. Her hand touches something hard and smooth and cold. Curious, she pulls it out of the box. It's a picture frame, dark and wooden. Nothing special. But the picture inside…

She catches her breath.

It's a picture of them. All of them. they're all wearing their colors, grinning into the camera. It was the day of a picnic she and Cassie had planned for the mall. She remembers it so well. The soft breeze, the shining sun, even the flavor of the foods. It had been perfect.

She didn't even realize she was crying until a tear drops from her eye onto the glass. It lands right over her face, the small pool of water splashing onto the guy standing next to her. He was wearing red. His striped hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He was smiling-a real smile, one he usually had just for her.

Or at least, used to. Used to smile only for her.

"Guys…" she whispers, touching the glass. It was keeping the photo from getting ruined, from crumbling. If only she had something like that for her life. At the time, they had had no idea of what was to come. They didn't' know what they were going to do about it, they were just relaxing and having fun, being normal teenagers without the threat of the universe on their heads. They were just…being. Feeling. Living.

Frozen in time, no one could've predicted what they were going to do, going to say. Hearts would be broken, lives would be saved, friendships would be cracked and mended and wounds would heal. But then…

She touches his face again, wishing to feel his actual skin beneath her fingers. Feel him breathe, see him look at her with those eyes that she drowned in every time.

"Without you…what can I do?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay but here is the next chapter! After this, in the upcoming chapters, it might get a little confusing so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! **

She walks down the street, oblivious to the other people around. They push by her, bumping into her, but she doesn't notice. She's felt much worse than this.

It's been two months since she's moved in with Tommy and Kimberly. Although she's had happier times, it hasn't been bad. True, she has been plagued with thoughts of…_him_…all the time, but she's learned to turn them off.

Except at night. At night, that's when she dreams, that's when she has ample time to just think of what she could've have, what could've happened, who she could've been with it.

And it kills her. Every time.

So she tries to keep busy. Every day, she does as much work as she can, running errands for Kim, working her job at a daycare center five days a week, sometimes even making dinner. Anything to tire her out, so she doesn't have time to ponder and think during the night.

And it's been working. Dealing with little kids for a few hours is enough to make anyone weary. She has fought monsters and defeated evil, so she supposes they shouldn't be _too_ tiresome, but she underestimated them.

She doesn't mind that, though. She's always loved kids, she's always loved playing with them and talking with them. She guesses her personality has something to do with it or maybe it's just because the loves being a leader. Either way, even though it is tiring, she wouldn't trade it for anything.

Well, maybe not _anything_…

_No. Don't think about it. No._

She adjusts her shopping bag and moves it to her other shoulder. It grazes her arm with every step she takes and reminds her that she's alive. She's still breathing, she's still living. Living doesn't have to end with…_him_…she still has things to do. She won't let it rule her life.

She's so lost in thought she doesn't notice when someone collides into her and she stumbles, dropping a bag. Muttering an apology, she bends down to retrieve it but it's already picked up and is held out to her.

She looks up to meet the eyes of the person and is surprised to find Carlos staring back at her, holding the bag in front of him.

"Carlos?" she says, skeptical. It's been so long since she's seen him but he's still the same old person he was the last time she saw him. Shoulder-length black hair, dark eyes, bulging, muscular arms. He smiles and it's like the sun comes out.

"Hey Ashley," he says easily, grinning at her. Still surprised to see him, she blinks a few times. She tries to pull the cobwebs from her head and manages a small smile at him. It is good to see him again, but seeing him is a reminder of what…happened.

"Hi Carlos," she stutters out, taking a step forward and hugging him. "It's so good to see you. "And she means it too. She needs something familiar in this place of new things and an old friend is just the ticket.

"It's great to see you too," he tells her, squeezing her tightly. To feel wanted, to feel loved like that brings feeling of sadness and happiness to her chest.

"What brings you here?" she asks him as he lets her go. They start to walk down the sidewalk, him still holding her bag. They make their way to the boardwalk, as they're not far from it and stop at the railing, overlooking the ocean.

"I heard that a professional soccer coach that lives here was having a tryout here to see if anyone was good enough for his team and decided to go for it," Carlos responds, leaning his forearms on the railing. Ashley follows suit as she sets her bags down on the ground.

"That's great news," she says, trying to sound upbeat. She is happy for him; it's his greatest dream to play professionally. But seeing him so happy makes her wonder if she'll ever be that cheerful again.

"I know right? But what about you? Why are you in Miami?" Carlos looks to his former teammate. She's still the same Ashley but there's something…different about her. She seems sadder, quieter, more drooping in a way. A flower that has lost both sunlight and water.

"Oh, I, um…" Ashley debates for a moment whether to tell Carlos the truth. To stop herself from answering right away she stares out to the rippling water. It's light green right up front, slowly fading darker and darker until made completely blue. Then that blue transforms into a slight indigo as it gets deeper and deeper.

In a way, it's like her. In the beginning, when they were first starting out, she was light, unclouded. But as she got in deeper and deeper, she got darker. She saw more gloomy things, she felt more twisted feelings and soon she couldn't get herself out of it.

"I'm now living with my cousin, Kim," she answers hesitantly, not sure of his reaction. She gives him a sideways glance. "Kim Hart. And…and her husband, Tommy."

"Wait, what?" Carlos raises his eyebrows as he pushes himself off the railing. "Tommy Oliver?" Ashley nods wordlessly. "The leader of the Turbo rangers before us?"

"The very same, "Ashley says, giving a half-smile.

"You never told us you were cousins," Carlos accuses her, leaning back on the wooden railing. A slight breeze blows by them, carrying the scent of seawater and sand.

"I didn't think it was that big a deal," Ashley defends herself, although her heart's not really in it. She didn't think it was a big deal and with everything else going on, she felt she shouldn't mention it. Between saving the universe, searching for a missing person, trying to stay alive and falling in love…_no_…she never found the right time.

"I see," says Carlos after a moment, deciding not to push it. He knows how broken up Ashley is about Andros and knows not to prod her about anything. After not seeing her for a few months, he finds she's still as sad as ever. And he doesn't know how to fix it.

"You know, Carlos, it was really great seeing you and all but I have to get going. Kim wanted me to make dinner tonight," Ashley explains. It's not a total lie-she did promise Kim she'd make dinner-but she didn't really need to go for at least another half hour. It's just the feeling of being around him brought back so many memories that she can barely stand.

"Yeah, yeah of course. Listen, call me up sometimes while I'm still in town okay?" Carlos reminds her, giving her a hug. He's warm and safe and for a moment Ashley fanaticizes about what she could've had if she had fallen for him instead. If she had made the safer choice.

"I will," Ashley promises, snapping out of her thoughts and letting go of Carlos. He smiles and winks at her.

"Tell Kim and Tommy I said hi!" he adds as he waves and starts to walk away. In a few seconds, he's swallowed up by the crowd. She continues to stare at the spot where he was before shaking her head and gathering up her bags.

Starting off, she walks back the way she came, towards more the center of town and soon the ocean is left far behind her.

As she goes past an alley, she hears a sound. A different sound then the voices of people talking and seagulls singing and cars honking. It's more of a cry, really. A cry of a…baby.

She looks around her for a moment before venturing into the alley. It's darkened by the buildings towering over it on either side. Sunlight barely penetrates through it and she can only see clearly maybe thirty feet through it. A dumpster flanked by mounds of cardboard boxes takes up one wall. The crying seems to be coming from there.

Learning to always be wary from being a ranger, she approaches the cardboard cautiously. She hesitantly picks up the top piece and underneath finds…

Two babies.

She stares at them, not believing her yes. They seem to be less than a year old, one boy and one girl. Both have dirty blond hair and when the girl looks up at her, she finds she has hazel eyes. The boy's eyes are more of a darker brown but still slightly green.

"Oh, you poor things," she exclaims as she squats down to see them more clearly. Despite having been crying moments earlier, now they are smiling up at her. They're cute, for sure and seem to be unharmed. They're both wearing the same outfit-a brown shirt with pants to match.

"What happened to you tow?" she asks as they crawl closer to her. The girl reaches her arms up towards Ashley. Ashley hesitates.

She can't bring two newborn babies to Kim's house. Kim is being nicer then she could've ever hoped for, she couldn't' expect her to give her this break. They barely have enough room for Ashley but now to add two babies is unthinkable.

And yet…

She couldn't just leave them here. She doesn't know what's happened to them, why they're left alone here or how. But she's not going to leave them. She can't. It'd be too cruel

She nods to herself, setting her mouth. Even if Kim kicks her out, she's going to take care of them. She's not going to leave them out in the world like this. They'd die. No one deserves that. It's not their fault they'd been abandoned.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you from now on," she tells them. They look up at her, smiling widely. And for the first time in months, she grins back at them.

A real smile, not a half smile or a slight smile or a fake smile, but a real smile.

And if something makes her smile, she's not going to give it up. Not now.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kim?" Ashley calls hesitantly into the house. She closes the door behind her with her foot, her arms full of bags and babies. Walking towards the kitchen, she slowly sets down her bags on the white counter and calls again. "Kim?"

"I'm here, Ashley," Kim's voice rings throughout the house. "What's up?"

"Oh, well I ran into Carlos," Ashley says as she makes her way towards the sound of Kim's voice. She adjusts her hold on the two kids and walks up the stairs to find Kim doing the laundry.

"That's fun Ashley," Kim exclaims, her back to Ashley as she unloads the dryer. "How was it?"

"It was…nice," the other girl answers truthfully. But she doesn't want to talk about that. She has something bigger on her mind. "Um, Kim, can I ask you for something?"

"Sure darling, what is it?" Kim still hasn't turned towards Ashley, meaning she still hasn't seen the two kids. Ashley bites her lip, nervous.

"Um, well, while I was out walking today I found…um, I found these two babies." Kim whips her head around to see Ashley standing there sheepishly with two dirty blond kids in her arms.

"What?" she says, not really expecting an answer.

"And Kim, I was wondering if we could keep them here?" At Kim's expression she hurries on. "I mean, I can understand why you wouldn't want to, you've already been so kind to me and everything but I couldn't just leave them. I'd take full responsibility, don't worry and I'd take care of them all the time and you wouldn't have to worry about them at all-"

"Darling, slow down," Kim laughs. "It's fine with me. Really," she adds at Ashley's disbelieving expression.

"Oh Kim, are you serious?" Ashley grins as she sets down the kids to give her cousin a huge hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she squeals, squeezing Kim tightly. Kim laughs again.

"It's no problem. I just want to see you happy again."

"They do make me happy," Ashley admits, staring down at the toddlers. "Do you think Tommy will be okay with it?"

"It'll be fine," Kim sniffs, grinning at the other girl. "He will have no complaints whatsoever. I'll make sure of that."

"Oh thank you Kim. Thanks so much." Ashley smiles brightly at the two babies before picking them up again.

"I do have to ask though, what are you going to name then?" Kim picks up the laundry basket and heads to the master bedroom. Ashley follows, thinking over her question. What should she name them? She hasn't given it much thought, having been too preoccupied with trying to persuade Kim to keep them. That and the fact she hasn't been thinking about having kids. She wouldn't want to be a mom to anyone else but her and

_No._

"I was thinking maybe some Karovan names," she says absently, sitting down on Kim's bed. Kim peaks her head out from the closet where she's hanging up the clothes.

"Um, why?"

"I don't know," Ashley answers her. "It's just that, if I were ever to…to fall in love again or try to have a normal life, I would want something…something…it's hard to explain, Kim." She doesn't even know what she was going to say. She has no idea why she wants Karovan names. She just does.

"Don't worry about it, then," Kim says as she hangs up another shirt. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well I remember asking An-Karone," Ashley quickly corrects herself, not wanting to admit that she had asked…him…for Krovan names. That was when they were both happy and in love and had no thought to what would happen next. No thought that he would leave her. No thought that they wouldn't be spending the rest of their lives together. "For some names, so I have a few. For the girl…" She looks down at the little girl who smiles up at her.

"Karora," she decides. That name just feels…right. It suits the little one perfectly. She looks up as Ashley says it, almost as if knowing it's her name and recognizing it immediately.

"That's a nice name," Kim remarks. "Not my first choice but I don't' want to have kids yet. I haven't even thought about it yet."

"Of course not," Ashley says sarcastically. "I bet Tommy has though." Kim storms out of the closet to see Ashley grinning at her mischievously.

"I might change my mind about you keeping them," retorts Kim. Ashley's happy expression vanishes instantly.

"Oh Kim, don't, I was just kidding." She really didn't mean to make Kim mad. If Kim changed her mind then her happiness would be gone as quick as it came. And she couldn't go through losing something again. Not something that makes her happy. Not again.

She would then be forced to give up. For good.

"Relax," Kim chuckles. "I'm just teasing you." A sigh of relief escapes Ashley's lips. So she won't have to go through it again.

"Okay, good, "Ashley looks relived. "As for the boy…hmmm…how about Zylan?"

"Oh, I like that, "Kim says. "What about Zy for short?"

"That's cute," agrees Ashley. "It's decided then."

Little does she know it's one of the few things that will remain constant in her life.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while guys! Anyway, after this, things will start to get a little more confusing, jut fair warning. But for now…enjoy! **

"Andros, you might want to see this," Zhane says, his voice worried. Andros comes over to where Zhane is peering over the monitor. He takes a closer look.

"What is it?" he asks. Zhane shakes his head.

"I'm not sure. All I know is, that it looks bad," the former silver ranger says. Andros nods, wary about the dark black mist close to the Megaship.

Andros and Zhane had been investigating a distant planet that had a certain kind of metal that KO-35 needed for some inventions. After accessing it, they are now on their way home when confronted with the ominous black cloud.

"Can you get any information about it all, DECA?" Andros asks, looking up at one of DECA's cameras.

"I will try Andros," DECA answers, staring to look for information. Andros sighs, tired from the four day long trip. Zhane gives his beat friend as sideways glance.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," he answers truthfully. Well, half truthfully anyway. He is tired but not just from the trip. He has been having nightmares for the past few days as well that cause him to get very little sleep.

They weren't ordinary nightmares. They mostly revolved around a dark, oily shadow that fills him with sorrow being just in the presence of it. And then there's always a slight feeling of someone hovering on the edge of it. He has a suspicion of who it is but refuses to acknowledge it.

It was the right decision. He goes to his home, she goes back to hers. Simple and easy, right?

Not really. He had thought everything was in black and white but now there are shades of grey that taunt him at every turn.

He sighs again, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He feels a slight headache coming on. _These nightmares are really interrupting my sleep…_

_ Wait…nightmares?_

Nightmares.

"DECA, do you have any information yet?" he asks suddenly, a thought coming to his head. A thought that freezes his blood in his veins. A thought that makes his heart almost stop. A thought…that is impossible.

"I am sensing Dark Specter's energy as the embodiment of that cloud," DECA responds promptly. Zhane and Andros look at each other in horror.

"Wait, what?" Zhane looks from the monirot to Andros and back again. Dark Specter? But he…he was destroyed! Zordon's wave destroyed him!"

"I guess not," Andros says grimly. "I had a feeling…"

"Why do you think that is?" demands Zhane. "I mean, after all we did, how could he have survived?"

"Zordon's wave killed off the monsters and mutants, and also cleansed Rita, Zedd, and the other villains. But Dark Specter was the Monarch of all evil and so his lifeforce was too strong to get him killed," DECA announces to the quietness of the Megaship. Zhane and Andros look at each other in silent horror for a moment.

"DECA, how did you figure that out?" Andros asks calmly, inside feeling like a sort is brewing.

"And how come you failed to tell us that until now?" Zhane cries, glaring at one of DECA's cameras.

"I am sorry Zhane, but this is the first time I had any information about Dark Specter, probably because we didn't' know he was alive until he showed himself," DECA answers.

Before they can address DECA's answer, an eerie voice fills the Megaship. It bounces off the walls, seeming to come from everywhere at once. It surrounds the two friends, vibrating through their very skin.

"IT'S NOT OVER. IT'S NOT OVER. IT'S NOT OVER." The voice repeats this over and over again as Andros and Zhane exchange nervous glances.

"I'm guessing that's Dark Specter?" Zhane asks, trying to conceal his fear. Andros nods, looking around and trying to see where it's coming from. The voice is gravelly and rough but at the same time, smooth and solid as a rock.

"DECA, any information?" Andros inquires anxiously.

"I have nothing on this voice," DECA responds. "But that cloud seems to be headed for Earth at impossible fast speed."

They both quickly cast their eyes to the monitor and sure enough, the cloud is heading away from them in the direction of Earth. The voice fades the farther away the cloud moves until there's the barest trace of an echo.

"IT'S NOT over. IT'S not over. It's not over. It's…"

"Perfect," Andros mumbles. "Just perfect." He shakes off the chills he got from the voice.

"Now what do we do? If he's back…we have no rangers," Zhane tells Andros, swinging around in his chair to face the former red ranger. Andros nods, running a hand through his striped hair.

"I know, I know, let me think." But his brain feels frozen. To be confronted with such an enemy after thinking all was well, he can barely form any thoughts. This is terrible. How are they supposed to come back from this? They had never planned for this to happen.

"Andros…" Zhane waits until his friend faces him and they lock eyes. "I think we both know what we have to do."

"You mean…" Andros's eyes widen slightly.

"We have to become rangers again. And go to Earth," Zhane declares. "And we'll have to see them."

_And her. _The unspoken words hover in the air as Andros feels the ground stat to swat beneath his feet. He knew he'd have to come face to face with his past someday.

He just didn't think it'd be so soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long guys. I've had so much going on! But anyway, here you are. **

"Hey, Ashley? You have a visitor," Kimberly calls up the stairs. Ashley is in the middle of playing with Karora and Zy but pauses when she hears Kim's voice. Tilting her head slightly, curious as to who her visitor will be, she gets up.

"You two stay right here," she tells the twins who just smile up at her then turn back to the few stuffed animals cluttering the floor. Shaking her head, smiling, Ashley leaves the room and walks down the steps to the front door. Kimberly is standing there, talking earnestly with the person on the other side. Ashley walks closer, curious. Then she sees.

"Hey TJ!" she exclaims, gently pushing past Kim to hug him. The tall man grins at her and hugs her back tightly. It feels great to see him again, after everything.

She's changed so much. She's not as trusting. She's not as nice because she doesn't want to get walked over all over again. She has distanced herself from people because in the end, she knows they're going to leave her.

What heartbreak does to a girl.

"It's good to see you Ash," he says. Ashley smiles into his shirt. It's been so long since she's seen her friends. Her old teammates. But it's good all the same.

"You too. How have you been?" asks Ashley, pulling back from the hug to stare him in the eyes. The sparkle that was there when he saw her is now gone and replaced with grimness.

"I was doing well," he starts. "Until I got a call from…Zhane." He deliberately avoids mentioning Andros's name, not sure how his friend is holding out.

At the sound of Zhane, Ashley's smile disappears. "And what did he have to say?"

"Something's wrong. Something's not right up in space," TJ explains. "We need to go meet them at the Megaship right away."

"They're here?" Kim breaks in, looking confused. For all she knew, they were millions of miles away in the galaxy. TJ shakes his head.

"Not yet. But they will be. Ashley, we need you. It's an emergency."

Ashley looks at her old friend, then at her cousin who had done so much for her on short notice. She thinks about the twins. She thinks about Kim's and Tommy's kindness. She thinks about her friends. She thinks about…him.

"Can you take care of them? At least until I know what's going on?" Ashley looks earnestly at Kim. Kim nods shrugging one shoulder, giving her cousin a smile to let her know that she totally understands. The duty of being a ranger calls.

The former yellow Astro ranger looks back at TJ. "Just give me a minute to grab my purse."

L-O-V-I-N-G -Y-O-U- F-R-O-M -A-F-A-R

"Are you ready for this?" Cassie asks her friend. After TJ had gotten Ashley, he then picked up Cassie and Carlos. There had been joyful hugs, happy smiles, stories exchanged and the reunion complete. But now it's time to get to business.

Ashley nods wordlessly. "It will be…hard," she admits quietly. Carlos, who is sitting shotgun, looks back at her to give her a reassuring smile.

"It will be fine, Ashe. You'll see," he says, trying to console her. She gives him a small smile, her stomach in knots. Her limbs are wound so tightly she feels sick. She thought she could handle this but now that it's almost here, she's beginning to have second thoughts.

Has he tormented himself over the decision he made months ago? Has it kept him awake at nights? Does he lie in bed, thinking, wishing, wondering?

She thinks about the twins. She had picked them up mere days ago and now she's leaving them in Kim and Tommy's care. How is that fair to them? To mess up their lives and then vanish so soon after? Even if it's for the good of the world, that doesn't lessen her feeling of guilt.

"We're here," TJ announces as he pulls to the side of the road. They're on the outskirts of the city. It's not like they can land a Megaship in the middle of downtown Miami. That would be no good and raise a lot of questions.

"What about your car?" Cassie asks, opening the door. TJ shrugs, getting out of the car.

"I asked a friend to get it," he replies. "It will be fine. Come on guys, the sooner we get there, the better."

"I miss when we could just teleport," Carlos complains as they find a little road through the forest. It cuts through the trees and looks a little overgrown but still easy to maneuver through.

"Me too," TJ agrees.

"I miss a lot of things," murmurs Ashley. There's silence after this statement, as they all know what she means.

She misses Andros. She misses their talks. She misses his laugh. Their times together. The memories. The memories are all she clings to now, because she knows they can never change.

He can.

They walk in silence until they reach a small clearing that houses the Megaship, big and gray and imposing.

"It's as big as I remembered it," TJ comments, starting up the landing that's already open. The others follow him, feeling apprehension but also…another strange feeling. A feeling of… coming home.

It had been their home for almost a year while they were Astro rangers. It was almost a bit strange coming back to Earth and not living on it anymore. But they managed, somehow.

"Guys!" Zhane cries out as they enter the control room. He runs to Ashley first, griping her tightly around the middle and even swinging her around a little bit. Despite the severity of the situation, she can't help but laugh lightly.

"It's so good to see you Zhane," she exclaims happily. He lets go of her and then hugs TJ, Carlos, and Cassie as enthusiastically as Ashley but only picks up Cassie, known the other two probably won't like it if he lifted them.

"Your hair has gotten blonder," comments Cassie once the happy hugging is over. Zhane ruffles it, looking smug.

"Thanks. You guys look great. You've been working out, haven't you?" he asks, directing his question at Carlos. The former black ranger shrugs but blushes faintly.

"Maybe," he answers shyly, the first time the others remember in…ever. It's a first to see Carlos blush like that.

Becoming a ranger was the first of a lot of things, actually.

They've all changed so much. But this isn't the point of their visit. Something isn't right. Evil has come back, in some other form. What does this mean for them?

The tension in the room is so thick, despite how close friends they all are. It's a comfortable situation but everyone is already slightly tensed, waiting to get to get to the real reason they're here. Which is never good.

"Hey." They all whirl at the voice. Andros stands in the doorway, holding a clipboard that is probably full of reports.

Ashley catches her breath. Her memory had not done him justice. His gaze is still as penetrating as ever, blue-grey eyes staring out at her. He looks taller too, and buffer. Still lean, but not as much as before.

Now she can remember why she fell hopelessly in love with him.

His stare lands on her after surveying the others and then everything else seems to fade. It's just the two of them in the room, eyes locked, each trying their hardest not to show emotions on their faces.

_Please look away_, Ashley thinks. _Please look away before I crack. Please look away before I can't take it anymore. Please look away so I don't fall in love with you again._

He clears his throat before speaking. "Ashley."

Every time he says her name, she falls deeper in love.

And she tries to remember why she ever let him go.


End file.
